You'll Never Know, Dear
by Gallifrey Byrned
Summary: A song puts her to sleep. With that song, she puts him to rest. Skoulson.


**A/N: Urm. Hi. So... WE ARE GETTING AUDREY. Yes, I am SO HAPPY. So, I had this one-shot. That I had written a long time ago. Since we're getting Audrey/Coulson soon, I thought might as well publish this now. So, yeah. I hope it's okay. ^^**

**Disclaimer: If it's one thing that I would really like to claim as mine, it would be Phil Coulson. But unfortunately, no. Only the story is. *sobs***

**P.S. This was set right after Skye was injected. So, yeah. **

* * *

The world was spinning around him, the rifle in his arms starting to grow heavier.

His knees went weak, his body falling.

And then he felt hands wrapped around him, catching him, cushioning him as they fell together, and hitting the concrete floor.

"Coulson, no." A gentle voice whispered.

* * *

[The night before.]

Coulson walked down the spiral stairs from his office, still in his suit, his shirt half tucked out, his tie loosened.

He stopped halfway, wondering why Skye's room had her door wide open. He continued stepping down the stairs, shrugging off the initial question. Still curious, he stepped into Skye's bunk, looking inside it to see if she was present.

But the room was empty.

Coulson wondered where the young woman might have gone to, remembering not seeing her in the observation ward through the screen in his office earlier on.

Why was he looking for her, anyway? Coulson realised it was a question he was asking himself.

"Skye's still recovering. She should be in the observation ward. Where the hell is she?" He reasoned with himself.

But Coulson knows the answer he provided was only partial. As he walked by the rest of the bunks, he realised that the actual reason for him looking for Skye was that he wanted to keep her within his sight, to make sure she is safe.

_Phil, don't you think you're a little too overprotective?_ Coulson mentally noted himself.

_People are hunting for her. They tried to kill her_, Coulson continued with his internal debate.

_For goodness sake, Phil! You're on the Bus! We are in the air! Unless they tried to hijack us, how is she vulnerable to them in this place?_ Coulson stopped halfway down his path, trying to make sense of his own reasonings.

He made his way to the lounge, where he thought she would be watching movies like she always does. But when he stepped into the lounge, his heart started racing to not see her there, "Where the hell are you, Skye?"

_Nope, not in the bar_, he shook his head, _didn't see her there when I walked past._

_No, not in the kitchen as well. Not having her midnight snack either._

"Dammit," he cursed. Coulson jogged down the pathway, taking light and yet quick steps, making sure to not wake the others up as he made his way towards the cargo deck, cold sweat starting to form, his worry starting to intensify.

Luckily enough for him, it all came to an end when he reached his destination and saw the passenger door to their black SUV was wide open. Coulson did not realise it but the view made his lips curve up into a smile, "Ah, 'me-time.' Got it."

He took light steps down the stairs and as he neared the vehicle, his hand reached out to knock on the window of the opened door. But it didn't make it when he heard Skye's voice, "AC, I know it's you."

"Why are you here?" He appeared from behind it, asking a question he thought was obviously rhetorical and unnecessary, considering he already knew the answer.

"Me-time," Skye replied as she locked her tablet screen, "I know, I should stay inside the observation ward. But it bugs me that you are watching me all the time."

Coulson tilted his head, as if he didn't understand what she was talking about.

"Oh, come on. It's not as if I don't know that you'd probably watched over me through the screen in your office the entire time I'm in the ward."

Coulson continued standing by the door, "I'm sorry if it made you feel like I'm breathing down your neck."

Skye noticed the tone of regret in his voice, making her to quickly apologise, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way."

"I should go then. I just wanted to-,"

"Coulson?" Skye interjected, "Can you stay with me?"

Coulson stood rooted, processing the question in his head, "Yeah. Yeah, of course."

Skye moved in, as he slid on into the SUV with her, leaving the door open like she had left it before. Skye put away her tablet, placing it in the pocket at the back of the front seat, before facing him and heaved a sigh, "Thank you."

"Thank me?" Coulson asked her back, raising an eyebrow.

"Thank you for wanting to stay with me."

"It's okay." He faced the front, starting to close his eyes.

"And thank you for watching over me." Skye continued, sitting up and closing the gap between them, tilting her head to make sure she could look into Coulson's eyes - all to make sure she got his attention despite his closed eyes, so that he knows how much she meant what she was going to say next, "I feel safe knowing that you've looked out for me all the while."

"It's okay."

"Thank you for never leaving my side."

Coulson opened his eyes to the sincerity of her voice, the tone of relief in it. Their faces just inches away from each other, he saw much clearly then how beautiful the young face that he had always adored from afar despite the low lighting in the vehicle, "I wasn't always by your side."

"Come on," She scoffed, "Fitz and Jemma told me everything. How you never left the chamber I was in, you never leave the screen to the ward unattended, how you never left my bedside until I woke up."

Coulson's cheeks flushed as he listened to the statement she made, "I- I was just worried for you."

"I feel safe knowing that you will always have my back."

He smiled tiredly back at the face before him, stroking her left cheek with the back of his hand, tucking away a lock of hair behind her ear, "I won't let anything happen to you. I promise."

When he pulled his hand away and started to close his eyes again, Skye let a tear roll down her cheek as a small smile formed across her face. All her life, Skye never thought she would ever be cared about. Being thrown about to different families, having her to end up living on her own in her tiny little van, to have to take life as it was thrown into her hands, Skye never thought that anyone would come into her life and help her out with it, to be a part where they remind her that she still mattered even though she screwed up once. But here she was, facing the man who had changed her life in a whole, the man who reminded her that she is indeed important. Without hesitation, she leant in and planted a kiss on his cheek, that caused Coulson to open his eyes again, "Why are you crying?"

Skye maintained a calm tone, "All my life I thought I had no one. But here you are, putting in everything in just to save my life as if I am a person worth saving."

Coulson wiped the tear away, "Of course you are worth saving." He pulled her in towards him, letting her lean against his body, her head propped on his shoulder. He held her close, stroking her hair as she quietly sat beside him, whispering into her hair, "You are important to me, Skye. You have no idea how important you are to me."

Skye turned and buried her face into his shoulder as she wrapped an arm across Coulson's waist, pulling him towards her, "You are to me too."

"Now, go to sleep."

"Can you sing me to sleep?"

He chuckled, "Of course."

Coulson took a deep breath in, adjusting the seat such that it reclined back and that Skye was lying on top of him.

_"You are my sunshine,"_ Coulson started off softly, _"my only sunshine..."_

Skye started to close her eyes.

_"You make me happy..."_

A smile formed on both of their faces.

_"When skies are grey..."_

She wrapped him tighter in her arms.

_"You'll never know, dear..."_

Coulson stroked her hair again.

_"How much I love you..."_

Skye took a deep and relaxing  
breath in.

_"So, please don't take,"_

He wrapped her tighter in his arms,

_"my sunshine away..."_

With the last line being sung, Skye breathed out and Coulson buried his face in her hair, smelling the sweet scent of her cinnamon shampoo, "I will always look out for you, Skye. Always."

* * *

[Present time]

Coulson felt his chest tightening, suffocating.

"Coulson, no." He heard a voice.

"Skye..." He tried to focus on her face, "I told you to stay inside."

"Coulson, stay with me." The voice begged, "You promised to always look out for me!"

He forced a smile as the pain in his guts started to overcome him, the pressure from Skye's hand trying to stop the bleeding, "I guess my always comes short."

"No," Skye's bloodied right hand stroked his face, "NO! You'll be fine, you'll be fine. Stay with me, okay?"

"You'll be fine without me, Skye," He turned his head to see the team running towards him and he smiled, "You have them."

"No, no. Shhh." Skye rocked him in her arms, her bloodied right hand still stroking his face, "_You are my sunshine..._"

"Skye... don't." His voice shook, blood coming out of his mouth as he coughed.

_"My only sunshine..."_

Coulson took her right hand in his.

_"You make me happy..."_

He smiled as her voice shook.

_"When skies are grey..."_

Tears started falling down her face.

_"You'll never know, dear..."_

Coulson coughed again, the blood splattered over their hands.

_"How much I love you..."_

With his shaky hand, Coulson placed hers on his chest, over his heart.

"_So, please-_,"

Skye heard him taking a sharp breath as he closed his eyes.

And then there was silence, his grip on hers was loosened.

Skye waited for a movement, a sound, a reaction.

But there was nothing.

The beating of his heart that she felt under her hand a second ago suddenly stopped.

Gently, Skye turned her hand around so that she was holding his. She bend over and planted a kiss on his forehead, leaving it there for a moment, letting her tears roll down her cheeks, falling onto Coulson's lifeless face, before she moved over to his ear and whispered her final line, "_...don't take, my sunshine away._"

* * *

**A/N: So, yeah. That's it. I am so sorry for not mentioning there will be character death in the first place. R&R maybe? ^^**


End file.
